La Soufriere Week One: 8 large explosions

By Demion McTair. Updated 10:01 a.m., Friday, April 16, 2021, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

The La Soufriere volcano began erupting explosively a week ago on April 9, 2021. Since then, seven other explosive eruptions have been reported.

The explosive eruptions came after months of continued effusive eruptions which began on December 27, 2020.

Here is a list of all the reported explosive eruptions, their days and times. This list was compiled after a scan of the social media pages of the UWI Seismic Research Center (UWISRC) and the National Emergency Management Organization – NEMO, two official sources of information which post eruption updates.

This list is to be taken as a preliminary timeline of the eruptive record of the volcano during this period, as these are eruptions that were reported on the social media pages of UWISRC and NEMO. Official data on eruptive records can only come from the experts gathering data on the eruptive activities at the volcano.

Additionally, “explosive eruption” in this article refers to reported events which the UWISRC and NEMO labeled as “explosive eruptions” and which sent an ash plume high in the sky.

Here are the eight (8) reported explosive eruptions so far of the current 2021 eruption cycle of the La Soufriere volcano:

First explosive eruption: Friday, April 9, 2021, at 8:41 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST). Source: UWISRC.

Second explosive eruption: Friday, April 9, 2021, at 2:45 p.m., AST. Source: UWISRC.

Third Explosive eruption: Friday, April 9, 2021, at 6:35 p.m., AST. Source: UWISRC.

Fourth explosive eruption: Monday, April, 12, 2021, at 4:15 a.m., AST. Source: UWISRC.

Fifth explosive eruption: Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at 6:30 a.m., AST. Source: UWISRC.

Sixth explosive eruption: Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at 11:00 p.m., AST. Source: UWISRC.

Seventh explosive eruption: Wednesday, April 14, 2021, reported at 11:19 a.m., by NEMO.

Eight explosive eruption: Friday, April 16, 2021, at 6:15 a.m., AST. Source: UWISRC.

Experts have hypothesized that the volcano might be losing strength as the most recent eruptions have not been as energetic as the earlier ones which began on April 9.

They have cautioned, however, that the volcano is unpredictable and could still produce dangerous explosive activities.